


Regulars

by cryscendo



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee Shops, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 15:23:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4142799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryscendo/pseuds/cryscendo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Out of all of his regular customers, there was one in particular that stuck out to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Regulars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alliegerous](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alliegerous/gifts).



> I wrote this for a friend whose been in a rough spot recently and needed a bit of a pick-me-up. I hope she and everyone else enjoys!

It was ten at night, and there were few people remaining in the small coffee shop of Gotham City before closing. Generally, those who made an appearance at this hour were those who were regulars to the coffee shop. It was privately owned and only had three employees, not including the actual owner of the shop. Small, sure, but they got by well. Their coffee, being how unknown the shop actually was, was actually quite remarkable. It was assumed the owner was a choosy one when it came to his or her employees.

The shop was across from Gotham University, which kinda made it seem odd that they were never overly busy, despite it being the only coffee shop within walking distance of the campus. They were typically at their busiest between the hours of six to eight in the morning as well as from noon to four in the afternoon. For the barista, Richard Grayson, he never saw the place overly crowded seeing as his work hours fall right after supposed rushhours. It wasn’t like Grayson was bad at what he did, far from it really. He mainly concerned himself with appeasing late night regulars with their satisfying usuals. And seeing as he did work right across from a college campus, he had to constantly make an impression. Most students in their early twenties have more to do with their lives than visit an underdeveloped coffee shop at ten at night.

Most, however, does not mean all. There were a select few that Grayson saw often and even knew a few of their names. He’d also be lying if he said he didn’t chat up a few of them once or twice. To be fair, Richard wasn’t much older than any of them, being in his mid-twenties himself. And if he didn’t lose business, what harm did it do? None that Grayson could see. He enjoyed his job well enough and those he was familiar with gave him decent tips, so he couldn’t remotely complain.

Out of all of his regular customers, there was one in particular that stuck out to him. Said customer never came down without his laptop, and typically sat at the bar near where Richard filled out orders. Richard always quite enjoyed his company. The customer never failed to show up, either. Most people who regularly visit, are only present four, maybe five times a week. So the recurring visitor was actually quite appreciated with Grayson.

He learned a lot about the visitor from his many visits. He was in his sophomore year of college, and he visited the shop to escape from his evidently loud dormitory. He never spoke ill of his roommates, aside from the fact that they were impossible to study around. Richard also had the customer’s drink order basically memorized, to the point where the drink was waiting on the counter for the college student’s arrival. Every once in awhile, however, Richard would mix things up. He would have the student be a guinea pig of sorts to try his new blends. The college student always agreed, though sometimes a bit reluctantly. It wasn’t as if Grayson’s blends weren’t just fine, but it was definitely a lot of trial and error for both parties involved. The customer didn’t seem to mind, or it he did, he never bothered to mention it to the barista.

Speaking of said customer, Richard already had his usual laid freshly made on the counter for his arrival. It only took a few minutes afterward before he actually made his regularly scheduled appearance in the coffee shop. Laying his laptop down on the counter, he opened it and directed his attention to the barista. With a relaxed, pleasant smile, he greeted the older man. “Good evening, Dick,” he said. Richard gained charming grin at the other’s rather casual greeting, at least by his standards. Richard had convinced the customer to not refer to him as anything other than ‘Dick’. Richard was what his boss called him, as well as any other authority. He didn’t want to feel like he was above the other in any way or vice versa.

“And hello to you too, Tim. Too noisy in casa del Drake?” Timothy Drake was quite accustomed to his and Richard’s small talk. That’s how most of their conversation usually began. It usually took a few moments of back and forth before their conversations actually got anywhere. Not that either of them really cared either way. Small talk or not, they still were content with each other’s company.

“I suppose you could say that. Conner and Roy aren’t exactly the quietest in most situations.” Tim has a habit of blaming his roommates for his returns, but realistically, he was going to show up no matter what the situation. If Tim was being honest, at least one of them, more often than not, were nowhere present inside the dorm by this time of night. That person was typically Roy, who was with someone new every what felt like two weeks. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, but it did feel like it.

“Again? A part of me isn’t all that surprised. From the way you talk about them.” It wasn’t as if Tim talked poorly of his roommates to the barista. Far from it really. He did, however, tend to offhandedly vent to the other. Better to Richard than to someone who knew his roommates and could spread the wrong idea to them. But even if Grayson did know Roy and Conner, Tim doubted that he would spill anything that could even potentially get him into trouble with his friends. It was odd that Tim trusted someone who was nearly a stranger to him, but he chose not to look too deeply into it.

The two were pretty much silent for the rest of the night, aside from Richard’s occasional comment and Tim’s soft tapping of his keyboard. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence by any means of the word. It was a normal silence for the two of them. Richard did after all, have a job to attend to, so it didn’t bother him all that much. Tim didn’t even have to ask Richard to refill his coffee, seeing as the barista seemed to stay one step ahead of him in that aspect. It was a relaxed process, the two of them thought. Not many complaints could be made.

It was close to the end of Tim’s time there when Grayson spoke up to him again. He had already closed his laptop when the older one grabbed his attention. Grayson leaned against the bar counter, his black button-up shirt slightly falling out of alignment. “So my shift is over in about thirty or so minutes. What would you say if I asked you out to a late dinner and movie?” It was no mystery that Grayson has flirted with Tim in the past. Was he has never done, however, is go as far as to ask the college student out on an actual date. The both hinted at the idea of going out, but nothing was ever set in stone seeing as Richard worked late hours and Tim had class to worry about. Not that he was ever struggling, but it still did matter. “You did say you didn’t have classes tomorrow.”

Removing his laptop from the counter, Tim stood, seeming to contemplate Grayson’s offer. It was definitely a compelling one. A date with an attractive barista that he may or may not have intentionally come to the coffee shop every night to see, there was not much of a downside as far as Tim Drake was concerned.

“Well, then I’d say you’ve got yourself a date, Dick Grayson.”


End file.
